Eb144/conf./10Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits
Draft decision proposed by Secretariat with amendments by Member States (Source: WHO Governing Body Documentation)Source: WHO Governing Body Documentation - January 31, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Demystifying Medicine 2019Source: National Institutes of Health (NIH). Published: 1/8/2019.
This one-hour, 48-minute presentation discusses the history of pandemics, their challenges, and the next influenza pandemic. Topics include the role of viral, host, and secondary bacterial factors in influenza pathogenesis; contemporary Avian influenza, and why an HIV vaccine Is essential for ending the HIV/AIDS pandemic.
(Video or Multimedia) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - January 10, 2019 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

The Critical Role EMS Plays in Fighting the FluInfluenza has been impacting public health on a global scale since the beginning of recorded history. Influenza, also known as the “flu,” has numerous organizations committed to public health research, developing vaccines, and educating on best practices to prepare for the upcoming flu season. By gaining an understanding of the flu through history, virology, and how it impacts our society, we can have a better appreciation for the commitment that’s involved with combating the flu.
What Is Influenza (and What’s Not)?
The eyes of an epidemiologist can twitch for a variety of reasons, one of them being...Source: JEMS Special Topics - November 8, 2018 Category: Emergency Medicine Authors: Morgan K. Anderson, MPH Tags: Exclusive Articles Operations Source Type: news

Q & A with Dr Ann Moen: How influenza preparedness helps fight other infectious diseasesCapacity building for influenza is critical because if you can prepare for and respond to flu outbreaks or respiratory events, you learn and practice for responses to other emerging diseases. Flu is not a sporadic outbreak like Ebola or Zika. It is always there, so there is always something to practice with and keep skills sharp. Because flu is a continual threat there is a lot of learning that goes on which also supports work on other emerging diseases. It ’s like the basic architecture for capacity building in all areas. For example, you can practice your communications for responding to outbreaks and better unders...Source: WHO Feature Stories - October 10, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: immunization [subject], vaccination, influenza [subject], flu, seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza Source Type: news

NIAID dcientists create 3D structure of 1918 influenza virus-like particles(NIH/National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases) Virus-like particles (VLPs) are protein-based structures that mimic viruses and bind to antibodies. Because VLPs aren't infectious, they show promise as vaccine platforms for many viral diseases, including influenza. Since details about influenza VLPs are scant, a team of researchers developed a 3D model based on the 1918 H1 pandemic influenza virus. The research, conducted by NIAID scientists, could benefit VLP vaccine projects, targeting a range of viruses from HIV to Ebola and SARS coronavirus. (Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases)Source: EurekAlert! - Infectious and Emerging Diseases - July 11, 2018 Category: Infectious Diseases Source Type: news

New & Resurgent Infectious Diseases Can Have Far-reaching Economic RepercussionsDAVID E. BLOOM is the Clarence James Gamble Professor of Economics and Demography, DANIEL CADARETTE is a research assistant, and JP SEVILLA is a research associate, all at Harvard University’s T.H. Chan School of Public Health.By David E. Bloom, Daniel Cadarette and JP SevillaWASHINGTON DC, Jul 3 2018 (IPS)Infectious diseases and associated mortality have abated, but they remain a significant threat throughout the world.We continue to fight both old pathogens, such as the plague, that have troubled humanity for millennia and new pathogens, such as human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), that have mutated or spilled over ...Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - July 3, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: David E. Bloom and JP Sevilla Tags: Active Citizens Development & Aid Economy & Trade Global Headlines Health TerraViva United Nations Source Type: news

UAB approved to test avian flu vaccinesUAB ’s School of Medicine’s Alabama Vaccine Research Clinic has been selected as a national trial site to test a new avian flu vaccine.
The clinic is one of four national trial sites to test a candidate for the H7N9, a strain of the avian influenza.
The trial is sponsored by the National Instit ute of Allergy and Infectious Disease, part of the National Institutes of Health, with the purpose of having an effective vaccine ready for any future H7N9 pandemic.
“We are excited for the opportunity… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care News Headlines)Source: bizjournals.com Health Care News Headlines - March 19, 2018 Category: Health Management Authors: Tyler Patchen Source Type: news

CDC seeks new labs for bioterror pathogens to replace aging facilityATLANTA — Inside a complex of special government labs, scientists in full-body protective suits work with some of the world’s deadliest pathogens: Ebola, smallpox and certain strains of bird flu. Many of the organisms have no treatment or vaccine, so the labs housed in this facility on the sprawling campus of the Centers for Disease […]Related:Flu cases fall for the first time this awful influenza seasonCDC warns about salmonella infections traced to kratomHere’s what you should know about the flu season this year (Source: Washington Post: To Your Health)Source: Washington Post: To Your Health - February 23, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

World Health Organization: 142nd Session of the Executive BoardWorld Health Organization. 02/2018 This Web page provides information, materials, and videos from the 142nd session of the World Health Organization Executive Board, held on January 22-27, 2018. It provides links to the agenda, and to documentation that includes reports on Public Health Preparedness and Response; Health, Environment and Climate Change; and Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the Sharing of Influenza Viruses and Access to Vaccines and Other Benefits. (Video or Multimedia) (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - February 15, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news

How Effective Is the 2018 Flu Shot? Here ’s What You Should KnowVaccination has been recommended for decades as the best way to protect yourself against flu, but it’s no silver bullet. The shot’s effectiveness varies from year to year, depending on the closeness of the match between that season’s viruses and the vaccine, which is usually reformulated each year. This winter in North America, its performance has been especially poor, leaving people more vulnerable to a virus that’s caused a spike in hospitalizations and deaths. In Hong Kong, schools are starting their Chinese New Year holiday earlier amid a flu epidemic that has claimed more than 100 lives in the ...Source: TIME: Health - February 7, 2018 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Jason Gale / Bloomberg Tags: Uncategorized Bloomberg health onetime Source Type: news

How Effective Is the 2018 Flu Shot? Here ’s What You Should KnowVaccination has been recommended for decades as the best way to protect yourself against flu, but it’s no silver bullet. The shot’s effectiveness varies from year to year, depending on the closeness of the match between that season’s viruses and the vaccine, which is usually reformulated each year. This winter in North America, its performance has been especially poor, leaving people more vulnerable to a virus that’s caused a spike in hospitalizations and deaths. In Hong Kong, schools are starting their Chinese New Year holiday earlier amid a flu epidemic that has claimed more than 100 lives in the ...Source: TIME: Science - February 7, 2018 Category: Science Authors: Jason Gale / Bloomberg Tags: Uncategorized Bloomberg health onetime Source Type: news

Eb142(r7)Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the sharing of influenza viruses and access to vaccines and other benefits (Source: WHO Governing Body Documentation)Source: WHO Governing Body Documentation - January 27, 2018 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

The flu vaccine could get a much-needed boostMore than 700,000 Americans were hospitalized due to illnesses associated with the seasonal flu during the 2014 –15 flu season, according to federal estimates. A radical new approach to vaccine development at UCLA may help lower that figure for future flu seasons.The scientists used leading-edge genomics to identify and eliminate the virus ’s defense mechanisms, enabling them to develop a vaccine “candidate” — meaning that it must still undergo evaluation and approval by the FDA — that in animals has been proven to be safe and highly effective against influenza.In the study, which was pu...Source: UCLA Newsroom: Health Sciences - January 19, 2018 Category: Universities & Medical Training Source Type: news

Eb141/24Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework for the sharing of influenza
viruses and access to vaccines and other benefit (Source: WHO Governing Body Documentation)Source: WHO Governing Body Documentation - December 18, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Source Type: news

Pandemic bird flu virus just three mutations away, warn scientists(Natural News) As the general population lines up and pumps itself full of cytotoxins (vaccine ingredients), another viral mutation is being predicted. This time scientists are warning about a new kind of bird flu virus, one that is only three mutations away from attaching to human host cells and becoming a global pandemic. It doesn’t... (Source: NaturalNews.com)Source: NaturalNews.com - October 26, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Three-Zone Biosecurity Offers New Hope to Indonesian FarmersJames McGrane, FAO ECTAD Indonesia Team Leader, at his office in Jakarta. Credit: Kanis Dursin/IPSBy Kanis DursinJAKARTA, Indonesia, Jul 10 2017 (IPS)Poultry farmer Bambang Sutrisno Setiawan had long heard about biosecurity but never gave serious thought to it, even when the highly pathogenic avian influenza H5N1 forced him to cull thousands of his layer chickens in 2003 and 2009.Eighteen years into the business, however, Bambang, who is called Ilung by friends, is now converting his second farm into a three-zone biosecurity poultry with a strong conviction that it is the only way to save his business amid continued threat...Source: IPS Inter Press Service - Health - July 10, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: Kanis Dursin Tags: Asia-Pacific Economy & Trade Featured Food & Agriculture Headlines Health Projects avian flu biosafety Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) Improving the lives of rural populations: better nutrition & agricultu Source Type: news

Public Health Interventions in the Pandemics and EpidemicsWorld Health Organization. 06/2017 This introductory level course provides the information and tools needed to better manage disease outbreaks and health emergencies. Materials have been originally designed for World Health Organization African region purposes and have references to Africa more than other continents. Topics include Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Planning; Operationalizing Emergency Response; Global Vaccine Stockpile; and Laboratory Networks to Support Outbreak Surveillance and Response. (Video or Multimedia) Site requires free registration. (Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health)Source: Disaster Lit: Resource Guide for Disaster Medicine and Public Health - June 16, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Authors: The U.S. National Library of Medicine Source Type: news

Seventieth World Health Assembly update, 25 MayThe World Health Assembly today made decisions relating to polio, the Pandemic Influenza Preparedness Framework, and the health workforce. Delegates paid tribute to ongoing efforts to end polio transmission in the last three endemic countries - Afghanistan, Nigeria and Pakistan. They expressed concern about the continued shortage of inactivated poliovirus vaccine, and noted the urgent need to contain polioviruses in safe facilities, destroy unneeded materials, and appropriately contain resources that can be used for research or other purposes. This has become particularly important since the eradication of type 2 of the wi...Source: WHO news - May 25, 2017 Category: International Medicine & Public Health Tags: health workforce [subject], human resources for health, health workers, healthcare workers, health care workers, influenza [subject], flu, seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza, poliomyelitis [subject], polio, poliovirus, polio encephalitis, Press releas Source Type: news

Pandemic Alert: How Lessons From China Can Help Us Rethink Urgent Health ThreatsThis article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.
type=type=RelatedArticlesblockTitle=Related... + articlesList=5919b373e4b0bd90f8e6a746,58e7ca87e4b06f8c18beeb55,58b9d3fde4b05cf0f4008d49 -- This feed and its contents are the property of The Huffington Post, and use is subject to our terms. It may be used for personal consumption, but may not be distributed on a website. (Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post)Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - May 18, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

With bird flu surging, U.S. needs to do more to prevent possible pandemic, GAO saysIf the United States were suddenly facing a potential avian influenza pandemic, just one U.S. manufacturer could be counted on to make human pandemic flu vaccine here. And although the chickens that lay the eggs used in the process are themselves susceptible to the virus, until an emergency arises only voluntary and often inadequate measures by poultry producers […]Related:Scott Gottlieb confirmed to lead Food and Drug AdministrationNew safety risks detected in one-third of FDA-approved drugsU.S. life expectancy varies by more than 20 years from county to county (Source: Washington Post: To Your Health)Source: Washington Post: To Your Health - May 11, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

The World Is Not Ready for the Next PandemicAcross China, the virus that could spark the next pandemic is already circulating. It’s a bird flu called H7N9, and true to its name, it mostly infects poultry. Lately, however, it’s started jumping from chickens to humans more readily–bad news, because the virus is a killer. During a recent spike, 88% of people infected got pneumonia, three-quarters ended up in intensive care with severe respiratory problems, and 41% died.
What H7N9 can’t do–yet–is spread easily from person to person, but experts know that could change. The longer the virus spends in humans, the better the chance that i...Source: TIME.com: Top Science and Health Stories - May 4, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Authors: Bryan Walsh Tags: Uncategorized CDC Disease ebola Gates Foundation MERS outbreak pandemic Zika Source Type: news

Moderna's bird flu vaccine performs well ​in first human trialCambridge-based Moderna Therapeutics on Thursday unveiled early data from its first human trial, saying that its bird flu vaccine had easily outperformed a placebo.
Moderna is focused exclusively on an approach known as messenger RNA, which recruits the body's own cells to create proteins to fight disease. The privately-held company employs 460 people and has attracted more than $1 billion in investments and partnership deals, but has revealed few details abo ut its pipeline in recent years.
The… (Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines)Source: bizjournals.com Health Care:Pharmaceuticals headlines - April 27, 2017 Category: Pharmaceuticals Authors: Max Stendahl Source Type: news

How can I avoid getting the flu?Seasonal influenza (or “flu”) is most often caused by type A or B influenza viruses. Symptoms include sudden onset of fever, cough (usually dry), headache, muscle and joint pain, sore throat and a runny nose. The cough can be severe and can last 2 or more weeks. (Source: WHO Feature Stories)Source: WHO Feature Stories - January 25, 2017 Category: Global & Universal Tags: influenza [subject], flu, seasonal influenza, pandemic influenza, vaccines [subject], vaccine, vaccine safety, vaccine quality, Q & A [doctype] Source Type: news

Meet Anne Schuchat, The Pro-Vaccine Researcher Who Just Took Over The CDCThis reporting is brought to you by HuffPost’s health and science platform, The Scope. Like us on Facebook and Twitter and tell us your story: scopestories@huffingtonpost.com.
function onPlayerReadyVidible(e){'undefined'!=typeof HPTrack&&HPTrack.Vid.Vidible_track(e)}!function(e,i){if(e.vdb_Player){if('object'==typeof commercial_video){var a='',o='m.fwsitesection='+commercial_video.site_and_category;if(a+=o,commercial_video['package']){var c='&m.fwkeyvalues=sponsorship%3D'+commercial_video['package'];a+=c}e.setAttribute('vdb_params',a)}i(e.vdb_Player)}else{var t=arguments....Source: Healthy Living - The Huffington Post - January 25, 2017 Category: Consumer Health News Source Type: news

Mahmoud Fikri appointed as Regional Director for the WHO Eastern Mediterranean Region24 January 2017 Geneva – The World Health Organization’s Executive Board, currently holding its 140th session in Geneva, has appointed Dr Mahmoud Fikri as WHO Regional Director for the Eastern Mediterranean, following his nomination by the Regional Committee for the Eastern Mediterranean in October last year. Dr Fikri will take up his appointment for a 5-year term starting on 1 February 2017.
Currently, Dr Fikri is adviser to the Minister of Health of United Arab Emirates, and was previously the Assistant-Undersecretary for Preventive Medicine and Health Policies Affairs in the Ministry (1995–...Source: WHO EMRO News - January 23, 2017 Category: Middle East Health Source Type: news